Demand for purchase loans is down 35 percent from a month ago as homebuyers have yet to return to the market following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit at the end of April, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

In announcing the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 4, the MBA said a seasonally adjusted index measuring demand for purchase mortgages was down 5.7 percent from the week before and 30.4 percent from a year ago.